How Shameless Broke Mark Mylod Out Of 'Director Jail'

Having helmed multiple episodes of smash hit series like "Entourage," "Game of Thrones," and "Succession," Mark Mylod has rightfully become one of the more in-demand directors in the television realm. And if the success of his 2022 culinary thriller "The Menu" is any indication, he's about to take the film world by storm too. 

Given his recent successes, Mylod is no doubt in a position to be choosier about what projects he claims from the director's chair these days. But that has not always been the case for the "Amazing Stories" alum. In fact, not long after the UK native came to work Stateside, he found himself on the outside of showbiz looking in, having landed in the dreaded "director's jail." As Mylod explained during a recent director roundtable conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, that meant he'd made a mistake or two in his professional journey, leaving Hollywood brass to think twice about hiring him.

Mylod further explained his stint in director's prison was largely the result of his helming a failed television pilot, "which I won't name and never should have done." He went on to take full blame for the pilot not working, admitting he made less than inspired choices along the way. Struggling to find work after, Mylod added, "I got out of [the rut] by just pitching the heck out of doing the American version of "Shameless," and then, when I got that pilot, making sure it was as extraordinary as I could possibly make it."

Judging from Mark Mylod's comments, it sounds like he had to do some serious behind-the-scenes hustling to land in the director's chair on the pilot of Showtime's "Shameless" remake. Director's jail or not, that news is a little bit surprising given his own history with the series. Mylod did, after all, rise to prominence on the UK television scene in part by directing episodes of Channel 4's BAFTA-winning original, which includes helming the inaugural episode of that distinctly British hit.

If you've seen both the UK and U.S. versions of "Shameless," you know the episodes are, shall we say, similar in both style and narrative, with Mylod occasionally going beat-for-beat with the original, much to the chagrin of certain O.G. stars. Still, as Mylod told his colleagues during the THR chat, his recent failures had left him hungry to reestablish himself by trying new things artistically. "That [failed pilot], and a terrible movie I'd made the same year forced me to reexamine my choices and completely change direction away from straight comedy."

Though the seriocomic "Shameless" was not entirely new territory for Mylod, the U.S. version arguably erred a little more on the side of hard-nosed drama than the original. According to Mylod, that subtle but vital change helped reinvigorate him as a director, and he told his fellow directors it also changed the way he approached his work, claiming these days, "that which scares me ultimately will be the thing I'm drawn to." And given the thematically complex nature of his recent workload, one has to assume Mylod is scared quite a bit.